G.— ENGINEERING. 143 



stated that after paying interest on loans and all working expenses 

 there was a total deficit of 1,744,000/., and in 1921 this had risen to 

 3,946,000/. He expressed the view that very important economies in 

 working expenses would be brought about by unification of gauges. 



In giving this summary of the history of the break -of-gauge problem 

 of Australia. I have endeavoured tO' arouse interest in this country in 

 tliis question. A great scheme of railway work, which is to cost any- 

 thing from 50,0(X),000/. to 100,000,000/., and which will involve the 

 manufacture of an enormous quantity of material, must surely be of 

 interest to the engineers and manufacturers of this country, even if it 

 wcj-e being parried out in a foi-eign countiy, and still more so when it 

 is being cari'ied out in one of our great oversea Dominions. 



In spite of the decision of the Royal Commission in regard to 

 mechanical devices for overcoming the break-of-gauge difficulties, I 

 think the pi'oblem might still be solved by such means, though it must 

 be admitted that none of the mechanical devices brought forward up 

 to the present time have offered a satisfactory solution. In March last 

 a Mr. Mathews, of Victoria, showed a model before the South Australian 

 Eailway Commissioners by which he claimed a solution of the whole 

 problem without changes in the permanent way, except at the terminal 

 stations where break of gauge occurred. His proposals were for certain 

 impi'ovements in the bogies of railway carriages and the under-carriages 

 of trucks, so as to allow an automatic alteration from 5 ft. 3 in. to 

 4 ft. 82 in. without manual labour or without power gear. Mr. 

 Mathews claimed that a whole train could be changed to the new 

 gauge in ten minutes, and that the only labour required for the alteration 

 would be that of the ordinaiy train staff. 



As I have only seen brief newspaper accounts of Mr. Mathews' 

 proposals I can give no technical details, nor can I express any definite 

 opinion as to the feasibility of this latest proposal. There is certainly a 

 possibility that some mechanical device might be designed which would 

 prove satisfactory in operation, and would postpone the need to incur 

 at the present time the heavy charges required for complete conversion 

 to one gauge, though undoubtedly sooner or later it is inevitable that 

 complete conversion must be undertaken. 



North-South Transcontinental Railway. 



The South Australian Government, at that time in control of the 

 Northern Territory (annexed to South Australia by Royal Letters Patent 

 in 1863), on December 10, 1902, advertised that they were prepared to 

 accept tenders up to May 2, 1904, for the construction on a land grant 

 system of the 1,063 miles of railway between Oodnadatta, the northern 

 terminus of the South Australian railway system, and Pine Creek, the 

 southern terminus of the line from Port Darwin. The gauge was to 

 be 3 ft. 6 in., rails not less than 60 lb. per yard, and the mileage was 

 not to exceed 1,200 miles. This was pursuant to an Act of the South 

 Australian Parliament passed in 1902, entitled the Transcontinental 

 Railway Act. The lantern plate shows the proposed route. 



The minimum land grant specified in the Act was 75.000 acres per 

 mile of track; the State was prepared, therefore, to surrender about 

 80,(K)0.000 acres of land as a prize for the construction of the line. 



1922 M 



